Automotive
Grade Linux (AGL), a collaborative cross-industry effort
developing an open platform for the connected car, has released
the latest version of the AGL infotainment platform, Unified
Code Base (UCB) 4.0, which includes support for SmartDeviceLink
integration, Speech Recognition APIs, secure Over-the-Air
Updates (SOTA) and improvements to the App Framework and
Software Development Kit (SDK).

The UCB 4.0 release follows recent news that Toyota has adopted
the AGL platform for its next-generation infotainment system,
debuting in the 2018 Toyota Camry in the United States.

“We are quickly gaining momentum across the industry, and
Toyota’s AGL-based infotainment system puts the AGL platform a
step closer towards becoming the de facto industry standard,”
said Dan Cauchy, Executive Director of Automotive Grade Linux at
The Linux Foundation. “The industry is starting to understand
the advantages of open source and the impact that AGL can have
on product development.”

Unifying the industry around a shared platform

Developed through a joint effort by dozens of member companies,
the AGL Unified Code Base (UCB) 4.0 is an open source
infotainment platform that can serve as the de facto industry
standard. The goal of the UCB infotainment platform is to
provide 70-80% of the starting point for a production
infotainment system. Automakers and suppliers customize the
other 20-30% by adding features and modifying the user interface
to meet their unique product needs.

Sharing a single software platform across the industry reduces
fragmentation and accelerates time-to-market by encouraging the
growth of a global ecosystem of developers that can build a
product once and have it work for multiple automakers.

As the UCB evolves into a mature, robust platform, AGL is
expanding beyond infotainment to develop software profiles using
the UCB for telematics, instrument cluster and heads-up-display
(HUD). To support these new projects, AGL has formed a new
Virtualization Expert Group (EG-VIRT) to identify a hypervisor
and develop an AGL virtualization architecture that will help
accelerate time-to-market, reduce costs and increase security.

An open virtualization solution could allow for the
consolidation of multiple applications such as infotainment,
instrument cluster, heads-up-display and rear-seat
entertainment, on a single multicore CPU through resource
partitioning. This can potentially reduce development costs by
enabling OEMs to run independent operating systems
simultaneously from a single hardware board. Virtualization can
also add another layer of security by isolating safety critical
functions from the rest of the operating system, so that the
software can’t access critical controls like the vehicle CAN
bus.

Virtualization will also play a key role in the AGL Cockpit
Architecture work which launched in early 2017 and expands AGL
throughout the entire cockpit to reduce the lead time for
integrating commercial applications.

AGL passes 100 members

AGL has also announced that seven new companies have joined AGL
and The Linux Foundation: Brison, Karamba Security, Lear
Corporation, Luxoft, Thundersoft, SafeRide Cyber Security and
Wipro Ltd.

“We are very excited to see interest in AGL growing at such a
rapid pace, passing 100 members is a significant milestone for
us,” said Cauchy. “We look forward to working with our new
members as we continue to strengthen the AGL platform and expand
our work to encompass all software in the vehicle.”

The AGL community will come together for their bi-annual All
Member Meeting on October 18-19 in Dresden, Germany. The All
Member Meeting allows the AGL community to learn about the
latest developments, share best practices and collaborate to
drive rapid innovation across the industry. Details and member
registration can be found here.

“We believe a world with sustainable mobility as a service would
be a better place,” said Mikael Soderberg, IVI Platforms
Director, Luxoft. “We feel confident that working with the
Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) community to develop an open
automotive platform will advance the unique user experience of
future driving. We look forward to collaborating with the
community and driving the automotive industry forward together.”

“Automotive
Grade Linux (AGL) is gaining an increasing influence across the
automotive industry. As one of the world’s leading smart device
operating system and platform technology provider, Thundersoft
can provide OEMs and Tier1 suppliers with our advanced smart
cockpit solutions to improve driving experience,” said Larry
Geng, CEO of Thundersoft, “We believe that Thundersoft joining
AGL will be a win-win choice. Thundersoft will contribute to the
AGL ecosystem and further leverage the automotive industry
technology with our leading solutions and services.”

“Wipro has two decades of experience working with leading tier-1
suppliers and automakers from across the globe, in the
infotainment, telematics and instrument cluster domains,” said
John Slosar, Vice President and Practice Head, Automotive &
Aerospace, Product Engineering Services, Wipro Limited. “The use
of Linux for developing infotainment products is now widely
accepted and Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) represents the next
generation of technology – a fully open-source and unified code
base that can serve multiple domains. We look forward to working
with industry leaders to help shape the future of AGL.”